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Welcome to our upload guide! The purpose of this document is to save time for you by explaining how our upload process works. You will see that it's pretty simple and straightforward. Let's get started!

1. What we're looking for

We are often asked what kind of images we need. It's not really about what we need, the important thing is what our customers want, and they are looking for images that are fresh, stylish, interesting and useful at the same time. Therefore, although we want to build a diverse portfolio on Stockfresh, our goal is not to gather as many files as possible, but instead focus on the very best, so we tend to be very picky compared to other microstock agencies.

As a general rule of thumb, you should submit images that stand out of the crowd, and avoid subjects that generate little or no interest. Nowadays everyone has a decent digital camera in their pockets and millions (if not billions) of photos are taken and shared every day, which means that the competition is so strong that if you don't have something extra in your images, they simply won't sell.

Therefore, please avoid vacation-like shots, unknown landmarks and random buildings, random objects around the house, ducks and flowers from your local park, very basic and lifeless studio shots, and photos you took a long time ago (especially with dated electronics, clothing and visuals), and anything for which you cannot come up with a realistic use case. As for graphics, please do not upload images that require very little effort to create, such as fractals, simple renderings of default 3D objects, simple headlines typed with free fonts and such.

After all that negativity you may think we don't want anything. That couldn't be further from the truth! There's a lot of demand for certain types of images, and we're always looking for visually stunning, contemporary, "less stocky", natural looking photos and professional vectors in the usual subjects: people, lifestyle, business, health, technology, travel etc, so make sure to keep those coming! :)

Regarding series: we'd like to ask you to keep the number of images in a series to a minimum, preferably between 5-10. Please do not submit a large number of almost identical files, especially if the only difference is a slight color change or a different headline. Thank you!

2. Preparing files

Before uploading your work make sure you take the time to do some post-processing if necessary. Here's the before upload checklist:

Photos + Graphics

We prefer DSLR, but accept MILC and mobile shots too (depending on content)

In case of graphics, rasterize or render your work and save it in a high quality, high resolution JPEG file

Minimum resolution: 1600x1200 (around 2mpx)

Maximum file size: approx. 25mb

Vectors

Prepare the vector file by closing all paths, converting all text to outlines and deleting unwanted objects

Make sure you don't use any material you didn't create or have no right to use (fonts, brushes)

Make sure you have all the necessary releases ready (for rasterized portraits etc.)

Save your artwork as an Illustrator 8 - 15 (CS5) EPS file

If you want to add extra formats (AI, AI EPS, CDR, PSD), that's fantastic, pack them all together in one ZIP file

Create a high resolution (up to XXL) rasterized version in JPEG format

Make sure the JPEG file has the same name as the vector version. For example for my_file_1.jpg one of the following can be used: my_file_1.zip, my_file_1.eps.zip or my_file_1.eps

Upload both files together

Minimum resolution of the JPEG: 1600x1200 (around 2mpx)

Maximum individual file size: approx. 25mb

3. Uploading files

You can use our simple drag and drop Browser uploader or the FTP software of your choice to upload files. For more information — including your FTP account details — please visit the Upload page.

It is important to note that for regular contributors subfolders are ignored on the FTP. Please put all your files in the root folder of the FTP.

It is also important to know that we enforce a weekly upload quota, which limits the number of files you can import from your FTP folder. On one hand the goal of this quota is to give everyone a chance to contribute to the site, and at the same time it is in place to encourage everyone to submit their best work instead of uploading everything they have without any thought.

The quota is reset every Monday and it only affects the number of files you can import to your gallery. It doesn't affect uploads, therefore you can have as many files waiting in your FTP folder as you like.

Do you have a large portfolio of exceptionally good images with embedded metadata? We can get your work online easily. Contact us if you want to leave uploading to us.

4. Importing files

All uploaded files are stored in your FTP folder. To import them into your gallery, click the Import button on the Upload or the My images page. As we mentioned earlier, you can only import a certain amount of files each week to ensure everyone has a chance to submit their images.

By default your files end up in folders based on the date they were uploaded, but you can organize them however you like. These folders are only visible to you, and you can get rid of them if you don't need them. When you delete your folders, their contents are moved to the Home folder, which is the root of all folders.

The site automatically reads IPTC metadata from files. We strongly recommend using this feature as it can save you a lot of time. All major photo editing applications are capable of editing and saving metadata.

Once the images are imported, it's time to edit them. For more information on this, see the next section.

The upload process

At this point all the files are Editable. Add / edit metadata using the Bulk editor OR Edit in place by clicking on titles, descriptions and keywords directly.

Once you're ready, simply select the files and click on the green "Submit selected files" button at the bottom. The files will go to a Pending status.

The review team checks if everything is OK with the files. Depending on the review queue, this might take from a few hours up to a few days.

If a file is Approved, it will go online the following day. (The search cache is updated once every day.)

If a file is Rejected, you will not be able to submit again unless you delete it.

Editing checklist

Add ENGLISH titles, descriptions and keywords to each file. They are all mandatory. IPTC metadata is parsed automatically. Make sure everything's correct.

Attach necessary releases. Upload new ones on the Releases page. You can also use that page to attach releases to an entire folder.

In case of rasterized graphics, make sure you select "Graphics" as image type. No need to do anything if you upload photos and vector graphics.

Optional: For more exposure link similar images together. This is a good way to show related images on the preview pages.

5. Editing files

You can manage your files on the My images page. This section of the site allows you to edit, delete and move files between folders.

Editing requirements

Make sure you add a title, a description and a set of keywords to each image, as the search engine uses all those fields to display the right results. The data your provide must be relevant. Do NOT add unrelated keywords in hopes of boosting the rank of the image. Files with missing metadata are marked with , while properly edited files that can be submitted for review are marked with .

If there are identifiable people on the image, you also need to attach a model release for every single person. You are also required to add property releases in some cases (eg. certain building exteriors, home interior shots, objects and pets). » More info on releases

Editing multiple files

To edit multiple files at the same time, select a folder or do a search based on a keyword in the local search form, then tick the images you wish to edit and use the Bulk editor on the left. If the Bulk editor doesn't fit on your screen while scrolling, use the small pin above the box and it will stay in one place. You can only edit files marked with . Changes to Approved, Pending and Rejected files will not be saved.

Editing a single file

To edit a single file, simply click on its title, description or keywords and use the text field that appears at the same place. You can only edit a file marked with . Changes to Approved, Pending and Rejected files will not be saved.

Adding model / property releases

Upload and manage model / property releases on the Releases page. You can also attach them to an entire folder of images there, and you can also use the Bulk editor on the My images page to attach them to selected files. » More info on releases

Image series

To maximize your earnings potential, we encourage you to use the Image Series feature of the site. You can link images that belong together (eg. they are from the same shoot) with the Bulk editor, and these images will be displayed on the preview pages as alternatives. Simply tick the images you like, select "Link images" in the Bulk editor and click Apply.

Submitting files for review

When you are ready, select the files and click on the green "Submit selected files" button at the bottom to submit them for review.

Deleting files

To delete files, type an ID or a certain keyword into the local search form, select the ones you wish to remove and click on "Delete selected" at the bottom.

6. The review process

Once you're done with editing and submitted the files for review, our team will inspect them. Reviews may take up to a few days, but we do our best to keep them quick.

Approved?

To check all your Approved files, visit your Online folder, or your live gallery. Please note that search cache is updated once every day, so please allow up to 24 hours for these files to appear on the live site.

Rejected?

You can find all your Rejected files in the Rejected folder, alongside the rejection reasons which are displayed under the red status indicators. Please make sure to read these rejection reasons carefully.

Most of our rejections are for images that we do not wish to include in our collection because they have limited sales potential. Sometimes we also reject images for missing releases or inaccurate metadata, and sometimes there are technical issues. Some of these problems can be fixed, and after the files are deleted they can be submitted again, but we don't recommend re-uploading images that were rejected because we weren't interested.

7. Sizing, pricing and licensing

Photos, rasterized graphics and rasterized versions of vectors will be available for download in the sizes listed in the first table, provided that they reach that particular category in size. Prepaid credit prices are based on these download sizes. Vector prices are always the same, regardless of complexity or format. All image sizes - including vectors - are available through subscription plans and monthly image packs as well.

For prepaid downloads we always pay 50 cents per credit (50% by default at $1 per credit), which means you can earn between 50 cents and 5 dollars per download. For subscription downloads we pay 35 cents per image. Last but not least, for monthly image packs we also pay 50% of the per image price, so you will be able to earn between 60 cents and 2 dollars for each download depending on the plan the customer bought. Sometimes we sell plans at discounted prices, but this will not affect your earnings as they are always calculated using the original price.

For our licensing info, please check our detailed License page, or this simple comparison chart. For consistency, extended licenses are available for all images.